Review: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

I was so totally excited to get the ARC copy of this book for review. I have been eyeing it since I first saw it on Goodreads and it sounded so awesome. A dystopian vampire story of forbidden love, so cool. I am not sure what it is about forbidden love but I love it. Vampires own my heart. Dystopian are just intense. So the mix drew me in, and I loved everything about this book. It really amazed me. It was intense, thrilling, romantic, steamy, and even a little thought provoking. (Just a little) Wow and double Wow!

So way in the future there are darklings and there are humans, half-breeds, wraths, and more. Once upon a time they lived in the same city, now they live with a wall separating them and the mix of the races is against the law punishable by death. There is Ash, a darkling half-breed; there is Natalie, daughter of the Emissary (government). Ash is allowed to stay in the city with his human father. Natalie is moving to the Black City with her mother. One night they meet. At first it is I don’t like you, I don’t trust you, stay away. Then slowly or not so slowly they fall for each other. If they pursue the relationship and get caught they will be killed. There are more problems than just their relationship, Natalie has a stalker, Ash is in the middle of the battle between darklings and humans, and humans are dying from a drug made with darkling venom called Golden Haze and the darklings are being blamed. So this book is full of drama and mystery.

This book took off right away for me. I was hooked within just a few pages. I could not put the book down. It’s been a while since I thought about a book constantly when I was unable to read it, I had to hide the book while at work, and all I wanted to do was read the book. The writing was just my style, flowed nicely, great pace, emotional, intriguing, very vivid. The plot was great, it had so many things going on I was never bored.

The characters blew me away. I thought I was going to have a hard time with Natalie and Ash being stereotypical at first but they really weren’t. Natalie came from a posh family full of privileges… so one would think… but she came from a pretty messed up family yet she comes out strong but with a soft heart. Ash seems like the typical bad boy with no passion or cares but he has a whole lot of drama at home and whole lot of loneliness inside. I fell in love with both right away, along with their friends Day and Beetle. Such an amazing cast for sure.

This story really got intense for me, the segregation…. Yes I know they are vampires but still they have feelings too. There is torture, scheming, blackmailing, lying, and closets full of skeletons. There is also tragedy and loss, strong friendships, and lots of love. Who could ask for more, not me! This book filled me up and left me satisfied but wanting more.

One of my favorite reads of the year if not my favorite. It is a keeper. It was riveting, addicting, and breathtaking. If you like paranormal and dystopian, I highly recommend this book.

I am so glad to hear that you loved this book. I've mostly seen positive reviews, but there have been a couple that have left me worried. :( Did you read The Immortal Rules? Sounds similar, so I'm curious to know your thoughts on that one if you did.